Chris Rock Returns To Directing For Showbiz Comedy Finally Famous

Red-hot stand-up comics don’t always translate to the big screen, despite the industry’s insistence on trying to find the right vehicles for their talents. Sometimes you hit it out of the park and get Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School. Other times you get Andrew “Dice” Clay in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.

Chris Rock is one of those guys who has fallen somewhere in the middle. He’s a brilliant stand-up comic – possibly the best working stand-up at the moment – but his film career has been touch and go. Things are a little sketchier when he directs, as his first two efforts (Head of State and I Think I Love My Wife) have had limited success. Rock’s hoping the third time will be the charm, however, and he’s opening up a casting call for actors to join him on a spring shoot.

Showbiz411 says Rock is planning on starring in and directing Finally Famous, a comedy about a comedian who wants to be taken seriously as an actor. He’ll collaborate with uber-producer Scott Rudin, who worked with Rock on his hit Broadway show The Motherfucker with the Hat. Rock apparently wrote the script, which will follow “a comedian turned film star who, despite the expectations of his millions of fans, is determined to reinvent himself as a ‘serious’ actor.”

The production’s currently looking for two key female leads: Erica Long, a reality television star who is planning to marry Rock’s character; and Chelsea Brown, a smart and sexy magazine reporter who wants to interview Rock’s character on the eve of his wedding.

Rock has the potential to smash a home-run shot every time he steps to the plate, so if he’s starring in a production which he’ll write and direct, we have to believe Finally Famous has a great shot. We’ll continue to track casting, but for now, are you glad Chris Rock is trying his hand at directing movies again?